G-3 Hot and Bothered III: Climate Change, Cannibalism, and Ovulation Synchrony

The previous two talks discussed the implications of a finding that increased sea surface temperatures are associated with a higher rate of egg cannibalism in seabird colonies. This is very interesting—if it is true. How did we conclude that sea surface temperatures is a relatively important variable in predicting the rate of egg cannibalism? Do gulls learn formulas in order to know how to behave? Why should biologists learn about an information-theoretic approach to data analysis (as opposed to null-hypothesis testing)? We will discuss these questions at an introductory level